ZSI women expedition to explore high-altitude faunal diversity

Shimla, Aug 2

The first women faunal expedition comprising seven scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) will explore endangered and endemic faunal diversity from an altitude 2,800 m to 5,800 m in Himachal Pradesh, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Lahaul valley is a remote terrain of high altitudes of Himalaya with rough climatic conditions. The survey will include far-flung valleys like Miyar, Udipur, Ghepan and Sissu) and high-altitude passes like Baralacha and Shinkula, the fresh water Suraj Tal lake and trans-Himalayan tracts of Sarchu, Chatru, Chota Dara and Batal.

These are the tough tracts that even men avoid trudging. The expedition, flagged off from the Atal tunnel near Manali by ZSI director Dhriti Banerje on Monday, is being organised to encourage the women scientists to participate in such expeditions in the future.

"It will boost the morale of women scientists covering this tough tract," she said.

Besides Banerjee, an entomologist with an expertise in Diptera, the other scientists are Debashree Dam, an expert on fossils and Hemiptera, Avtar Kaur Sidhu, who is working on mammals and butterflies, Indu Sharma, an expert on fish, birds and Herptofauna, Shanta Bala Gurumayan, an expert on mollusca, and Aparna Kalawati, who is working moths.

The ZSI is one of the premier organisations involved in taxonomic studies of fauna.

Banerjee took over as the 18th director of the 105-year institute on August 6, 2021. Headquartered in Kolkata, the ZSI has 16 regional centres and about 300 scientists.